A new brand and visual identity for the Scouts went live this week, focusing on skills for life as our key benefit.
As well as making it easier to talk about Scouting, we have introduced a new logo, colour palette, free brand font and tone of voice. The changes come seventeen years after the last major overhaul of the Scout brand, and coincides with the launch of a new five year strategy: Skills for Life: Our plan to prepare better futures.
Our new brand aims to better communicate the character, employability and practical skills young people gain, helping raise public understanding and awareness of Scouting’s impact.
Alongside skills for life, our new brand also identifies ‘belonging’ as our key emotional effect – with every member feeling a valued part of the UK’s largest youth movement.
Developed in partnership with volunteers, and following consultation and testing with 7,000 people, our new visual identity reflects Scouting in a digital age, while still retaining our strong heritage – including the iconic fleur-de-lis. In testing, both adults and young people responded well to the new brand, with parents saying they were 44% more likely to volunteer after seeing the new materials. You can now see the updated brand themes across our website and will be updating our other digital services over the coming months.
Focussing on our benefits
‘Independent, national research, conducted over five years, showed that the public did not clearly understand the benefits of Scouting, said David Hamilton, the Scouts’ Director of Communications. ‘The same research showed that the majority of the public had outdated perceptions of Scouting and we were not widely seen as relevant. Critically, our current visual identity, including our logo was created seventeen years ago in 2001, before social media. It did not work well online or at small size and there was a mix and match approach to digital and print applications.
The new brand brings clarity and focus around our key benefit, skills for life. It is now easier for volunteers to describe the benefits of Scouting leading to better understanding and support for Scouting.
Better tools and resources
There are now better tools and resources to support local Scouting. The new visual identity and logo are easier to use in print and online and our brand font is now free. Above all, it works just as well locally as nationally, which is vital in supporting volunteer recruitment and communications in over 7,000 Scout Groups across the UK.
A visual identity that is digital-first
As part of our brand launch, the Scouts’ logotype has also had a refresh, to reflect a more relevant image of Scouting, while still retaining its strong heritage, including the fleur-de-lis. Tone of voice, fonts and colour are also updated to reflect a more contemporary, relevant and digital approach.
The Scouts’ visual identity, brand guidelines and templates were created by NotOnSunday. ‘We jumped at the chance to add to the great story of an established and well-loved charity like the Scouts,’ said Creative Director Trevor Townsend. ‘It was important for us that we created a brand that was fun and exciting whilst retaining strong links to the Scouts’ heritage. We did this through creating a new, contemporary fleur-de-lis that will be immediately recognisable, and more usable in print, fabric and digital.’
Fresh Britain helped develop our brand strategy and identify the heart of our brand around skills for life and belonging. ‘We found the movement an inspiration,’ said Fresh Britain’s Director of Strategy, Andy Lipscombe, ‘helping young people to gain the confidence and skills to succeed in their futures. It is also great to see Scouts striking a braver note – showing great belief and pride in what they do.’
‘I firmly believe,’ says Tim Kidd, UK Chief Commissioner, ‘that if we start to talk differently about ourselves and present ourselves in a more contemporary and relevant way, we can substantially increase the support for Scouting. Putting skills for life at the heart of what we do and say will make it easier to talk about Scouting and recruit new volunteers.’
A new Scout brand centre
To support local Scouting with the changes, we’ve launched a new brand centre, which contains guidelines, logo assets, images and videos. There is also a wide range of posters, flyers and banners members to customise. Log in here to get started.
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